Hurricane VS Shell Valley

jburnes · #1 (**permalink**) 09-25-2007, 10:41 PM

My brother and I are going to attempt to build a Cobra for profit. You may recognize this from a different post. We have narrowed our choice down to the Hurricane or Shell Valley and we need your opinions. Both cost roughly $16,000 for the complete kit so it's not a price thing. What else should we consider? Who would you go with if you were in our shoes?

fsstnotch · #2 (**permalink**) 09-25-2007, 11:06 PM

I was in the exact shoes as you a few months ago.. you can obviously see my decision! The guys at hurricane are awesome! They have the greatest customer service, great quality, and the 202pg assembly manual is pretty well detailed and with plenty of pictures which helps alot! "A picture is worth a thousand words!" I made my decision by reading the threads in each company's forum here. I was just more impressed with hurricane.

Also, hurricane is continuously making their product better! they're near completion of both a hard and soft top option. It's pretty close to period and it's got double dropped footboxes so you get some more foot room. I ordered mine with dual rollbars but I talked to mike and told him I'd prefer a single bar across the back and he said they could work with that if it's what I wanted. they can make their kit fit just about any engine/tranny combo under the sun also which is awesome!

jwd · #3 (**permalink**) 09-26-2007, 07:23 AM

I have to agree with fssnotch. I too had it narrowed down to those two manufacturers. It took several calls to Shell Valley before they would even send a brochure. Even then, it took almost a month. That left me wondering how I would be treated AFTER they got my money. Another plus for Hurricane is the owners side of their forum. Any build question you could ever have will be answered there.

bermblaster41 · #4 (**permalink**) 09-26-2007, 09:07 AM

Just to one up the other 2 posts from hurricane owners. I bought a hurricane patially assembled from an original hurricane customer. There were a few things missing out of the kit. The guys at hurricane treated me as if I was the original customer. The kit went together with minimal hassle. Bottom line customer support. The cobra is finished and luvin every minute of driving pleasure. Call and talk to them first hand.... NO disappointments. HM1017 Berm

Terry Stapley · #5 (**permalink**) 09-26-2007, 09:54 AM

I have had no dealings with Hurricane at all so I can not comment on their service, but owning a Shell Valley Cobra has been an absolutely great experience. The SV crew are great at answering any question I may have and always have been willing to go the extra mile to help me, even after my build was on the road.
The build manual, though not great, was very sufficient to get the car built!!
My build time from delivery to registration was 6 months!!
Rich Lacey was scheduled to deliver my Kit but was broken down back east so Rich Anderson, the president of Shell Valley, loaded my kit and drove all night to make the appointed delivery time!! Now that is service!!

redss454 · #6 (**permalink**) 09-30-2007, 03:11 PM

Hi guys. we found this kit for $19,000 comes with everything and the body is finished with the paint color of your choice.
what do you think?
Antique & Collectible Autos, Inc.
35 Dole St.
Buffalo, NY 14210
any one build a 427 from this company?

www.acautos.com

fsstnotch · #7 (**permalink**) 09-30-2007, 03:28 PM

Well... if the frame is anything like the rest of the car....the frame on the AC looks scary!!!

Just look at it.. and then look at the hurricane frame....

Also.. the hurricane looks more appealing to me in body shape.

olddog · #8 (**permalink**) 10-01-2007, 09:24 PM

Don't get me wrong, as I like the Hurricane very much. I don't think you are comparing apples to apples, as the A&C is a stressed body design, where the Hurricane is not. Therefore the Hurricane frame must be built stronger, for the complete car to have the same rigidity as the A&C. Now I do not know which assembled car is better in terms of stiffness, but I can say that my A&C does not seem to flex.

Bill Bess · #9 (**permalink**) 10-04-2007, 04:43 PM

Well I can only reccommend the Hurricane because after 2 years of research I found the Hurricane to be a better kit. Most authentic body, great frame, dropped foot boxes and sub frame. 9' rearend the list goes on and on.
It just depends on what your looking for, most kits are very good.

Bill

Mysticle31 · #10 (**permalink**) 10-04-2007, 08:33 PM

I've been to all three mfg's and have seen their operation. Hurricane and SV are solid chassis but the picture of A&C don't do it justice it has a lot stronger frame than the picture illustrates. A&C is a very good machine. Good Choice.

Jim